


The Warriors of the Tri-Ringed Fort

by reasonforyounightmares



Series: Warriors of the Tri-Ringed Fort [1]
Category: Attack on Titan, Shingeki no Kyojin
Genre: Ancient History, Celts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-03
Updated: 2015-03-30
Packaged: 2018-01-18 01:23:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1409818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reasonforyounightmares/pseuds/reasonforyounightmares
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Once the Celts reclaimed their homes from the Roman empire, it was a time of celebration for the warrior. Shortly after, the titans appeared. As hard as they fought, their lands were swarmed and the proud Celts were forced to flee to the mainland and hide behind the walls. They swore to one day reclaim their lands from the Titans. A 100 years later their warriors still fight for this dream. This is their story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Village of the Sacred Tree; Finna

The Warriors of the Tri-ringed Fort

Story written By Anon

And edited and co written by Reason

A few things you need to know before reading this fan-fic. I have made some assumptions and there are some things you need to know.

1\. This fan-fiction will have an assortment of original characters. However, it is the same AOT story we know and love but told through their eyes. They do not change any major events,ranks, roles, or deaths of cannon characters in the series. If you don't like it, don't read. Though all the original characters are named and heavily based on Celtic gods or heroes, they are not these gods. Therefore, there will be no plot twist with them being a titan shifter, god or demi-god.

2\. This story has a huge Celtic influence. It is based on how Anon thinks Celtic warrior and druid culture would have evolved in the walls and how it would be perceived, how others would react to it and how the AOT world would be with it in it. That is one of the big reasons, if not the main reason, Anon deiced to write this story. This story is just as much about Celtic culture as it is AOT. Anon feels that the Celtics get this bad reputation as these barbarous, stupid, and uncivilized people, which is not true. The Romans and Catholic priests (who are our main source of primary written sources about them. have portrayed them as such. The Celtic people were an extremely divvied people with a similar culture. So creating a pan Celtic culture is hard, so something might be off. So, if you're not interested, don't read.

3\. The walls are somewhere on the European mainland (Possibility modern day Germany or Denmark).

4\. The titans appeared roughly after or before the fall of Rome. After the wall was erected something similar to the scientific revolution and enlightenment happened within the wall.

5\. They had no contact with the Americas despite having things like potatoes. (Fun fact: potatoes originally came from the Andes mountains. Not native to Europe. )

6\. This story assumes you are up to at least chapter 51 in the manga and that you have watched the anime. Anon loves to use dramatic irony. If you are not up to date you will miss a lot of it and have a lot of spoilers.

7\. There will be pairings in this reading. Do not like the pairing(s) do not read. We will not change based on comment

8\. When something is italicized and in quotations, it is being spoken in Gallic.

9\. Hope you enjoy. We have a lot of fun writing it, devolving the OCs , and expanding and speculating on the world of SNK.

* * *

Chapter one: The Village of the Sacred Tree; Finna.

_The Celts are descended from the warrior and druid Celtic upper class that migrated to the main land from the British Isles and other parts of Gaul. They are most noted for the military power. Most reside in all Celtic villages in Wall Maria. Due to there kind treatment to the recon corps many Celtic villages have recon bases just outside of them. Usually their Celtic knots, flashy clothing, accents, and tattoos identify them. They are seen as heretics and a threat to the public peace. Most people only contact with Celts are when they hire them to take care of bandits or bounties. All Celts from the age of 5-13 are taught: to read and write Gaelic and common, use of a short, medium and or long-range weapon of their choice, warrior morals, Celtic pre-wall history, nature (its use and respect for it), Celtic culture and religion, and basic military strategy. Teachings are done by the village druid and or bard._

Year 842 Bridget:

I woke as the morning sun's rays hit my face. I rolled over to see my older brother, Ogma, in his bed across the room. I quietly slipped out of bed and crept over to see if he was awake. His light chestnut hair was the only thing I could see of him. His blanket covered his face. I let out a grin. Today was the first day I could start doing stuff for my self. Since Ogma was going into the training core today, he could not baby me over every stupid thing any more. Usually he woke up before me so now was my chance. I hurried over to the dresser. I did not have weapon practice today so I could wear a dress. I picked out the red one Margwase had made for me. I ran my fingers over the intrinsic embroidery at the bottom. Margwase was like an aunt to me, she was a really good tailor and good a housekeeper to boot. Margwase said she would teach me to sew sometime. That would be nice. That way any time I had ripped my clothes I did not have to go to her to fix them. I started to put over my head but I soon felt to being taken off a new one being put on.

" _You should wear this nice green dress I bought you it goes with your eyes_." Ogma said. Although I did like the deep green color but I felt it looked too plain and the cut was strange. Ogma had always dressed plainly. It was very strange to me. Other the telling of legends he had no apparition for art. He was donning his plain black tunic as I ran out to the kitchen to make breakfast before he could.

I quickly took out the pan and threw some logs into the stove. I got the beans and ran to the cold room were meat was store to grab some sausage. I turn around only to see Ogma using some flint and steel to start the fire.

" _I wanted to do it"_ I angrily puffed. He turned to face me and sighed. _"Fire is dangerous, and besides you are a terrible cook. Now give me those and I will make breakfast for you_ _._ _"_ He said as he held out his hand. How was I supposed to get any better if he would not let me try to improve? No one else did this, not Druid Finn, not Lugh, not Taranis, not Mother, not anyone. It seemed to him the simplest of task was too difficult for me to handle. Always doing them for me even when I told him I could and wanted to do it on my own. Ogma clearly saw me as a weakling and it irked me to no end. I knew I was not weak. Druid Finn said I was one of his best students. No one had picked up the use of weapons as quickly as I had in his entire years of teaching and he was really old so he had to have taught a lot of people. In 3 years of training I had mastered javelins and Druid Finn said that if I was diligent I could master the spear in a year. Why did he always see me as weak? I clenched the sausage and beans close to my body. " _No_ " I shouted defiantly. Ogma closed his light brown eyes and took a deep sigh.

" _Bridget I am not going to argue this with you just let me cook breakfast."_ I clenched them harder

" _NO!_ " I shouted. He started to walk towards me. I dashed toward the stove, but before I got there he picked me up. I flailed defiantly.

I heard the door to Mother's room creak open. " _The sun has just risen what is with all the ruckus._ " She said groggily rubbing her storm grey eyes. Mom's long raven black hair was disheveled. She was wearing nothing but a white button down shirt that showed the triple spiral tattoo in the middle of her collarbone and light gray panties that allowed me to see the Dara knot on her outer upper left thigh. She pulled out a chair and sat down.

" _Good morning Morgan_ " my brother said.

" _Good morning Mom_ " I said gleefully. Rubbing her eyes she looked at us.

" _Ogma, let her cook; She cannot get any better if she does not practice. She is not a toddler any more she needs to learn to do stuff on her own. If you keep babying her she will become weak."_

Ogma protested, _"Yes because 8 years old should definitely be dealing with fire"_ She simply gave him an evil glare. Ogma shuttered. Knowing better then to argue with Mom past this point, he begrudgingly took a book out of his packed bag and sat down. He crossed his legs having the bottom of his boot at the cuff of the other as he cracked open his book.

Once I was done I served it to Mother and Ogma. Mom commented that the beans were overcooked but the sausage came out fine. I tried to make conversation " _So Ogma what core are you going to join after graduation?_ "

Ogma refused to look away from his book for anything. " _Don't know maybe the Garrison._ "

After swallowing her last bite of beans Mom commented, " _you know when he was younger Mr. Frowner here wanted to join the recon core._ "

" _Like Mom!_ " I commented happily. He stood up and said he was going to see his friend in the nearby outsider's town and walked away.

Mom simply said _"Like Dagda, sweetie_ " with a sad tone in her voice. Mom was part of the recon corps and apparently father was too. Mom never talked about him and Ogma would not stop going on about him. He died before I was born but, apparently he had copper hair too and he sounded kind and goofy. Dagda's death must of rattle Ogma a lot. I do not see what he found so interesting about the outsiders town. The only cool thing about it is it was right next to the wall, but they would not even let you get on the wall and if you were clever enough to get on the wall they would simply put you back on the ground. The fortress walls were disappointing. They were not very well fortified at all. All the fort seemed to have going for it was the walls' height, the triple ring layout and the fact it was made of stone. There was no trenches or motes or any other kind of fortification. Who ever built the fortress did a slapstick job. Druid Finn said I shouldn't be to hard on them they did have to build it in a hurry under less then ideal circumstances. It surely was not as impressive as the ones in the stories Ogma read to me when I was younger and considering humanity has had 100 or so years to better fortify the only thing standing between us and titans, you think they would have jumped on that by now.

Mom broke my line of thought by saying that Lugh and Taranis would be helping their father with an order of spurs and that Druid Finn had some business to attend to so I did not have classes today. I was about to leave but mom stopped me put a dagger in my I was not allowed to leave the house unless I was armed. Mom was very strict on that. I wanted to practice with the spear but, I was not allowed to train with weapons unsupervised; not after what happened last time, so I guess I could study healing and go pick some flowers for the solders' rooms. They liked to see something pretty in their rooms especially if they were bed ridden from an injury. Sometimes I would make crowns or bracelets for them, which they smiled at. I was trying to think whom I should invite. I went to the stable " _Hello Mrs. Moo would like to come with me to pick flowers today._ " She looked up from her breakfast and mooed. Mrs. Moo Moo was not very good a picking flowers. She mostly ate them but she was a good listener and did not trot away like the horses. They were cool for more athletic activities.

We walked to the edge of the village. I picked mostly field flowers and tried to remember what each plant did. When I felt I had picked enough I decided to head back home. Mrs. Moo Moo's barn was on the opposite side of the island where the bridge was. Once in the middle of the village I saw the tree of knowledge and stopped to stare. It is a beautiful hazelnut tree in the middle a small pond with river fish swimming around the tree's root system. It was the idol of the village of Finna and the pride of the village " _Isn't it beautiful Mrs. Moo Moo_ " I asked. I noticed two kids my age at the edge of the lake. I found it strange. Considering I had lived here my entire life, I think I would have noticed if there were kids my age in the village. As far as I knew I was the only Celt my age in the southern part of the first ring. The shorter one had one of the taken a fish from the lake. The taller one had taken a small wooden arm that was in the lake.

"What do think this is? " He asked the shorter one.

"I don't know but, you should keep it." The shorter one replied. I soon realized that they were outsiders . No Celt would ever commit the blasphemous act of taking an idol from the pond. The taller one put it in his pocket. I could not watch this blasphemy any longer.

"Put that back! He won't heal properly if you take it out!" I shouted at them as I rushed at full speed toward them. Throwing my basket to the ground. The taller one looked at my necklace, a witch's knot.

"It is a Celt! Run!" The shorter one dropped the fish and it flopped back into the lake. They ran towards the village and I was close behind them. They ran between two teenagers talking about the interiorer and how some mother wasn't able to take care of her daughter. I quickly rushed in between them making sure to not lose sight of the ones I was pursuing. The two boys ran into an alleyway. I let out a small smirk .I knew how to cut them off. As usual there was a stack of boxes that could be climbed up on so one could get to the roof. I climb up on to the roof and jumped down on the taller boy. The shorter one screamed and abandons his friend.

"You blasphemous bastard, give that back, the water will not heal him if the idol is not in the lake." I said as I kept punching his head repeatedly.

"Why should I worry about being blasphemous to a heretic?" He shouted back. That was the last straw I was going to give him one punch with all my strength to his mouth. I imagine punching the earth right behind his head and then I felt my self being picked up.

"Bridget calm down!" My brother ordered as he bear hugged me so I could not punch or kick him or the boy. I bite down on my brother's arm as hard as I could. Ogma winced and told his friend to go get his brothers.

" _What is going on here?_ " I heard Mom say sternly. She looked at me and said, " _Titans bite darling, not humans_." With her words I allowed my jaw to loosen.

" _His friend's little brother took an idol from the lake_ _._ " I blurted before Ogma could say anything.

" _Did he now?_ " Mom said in that semi-calm voice that you knew was the clam before the storm.

" _Did try using words instead of fists?_ " Ogma inquired with an angry tone in his voice.

" _He simply ran and called me a heretic._ " I replied.

Mom turned to Ogma, " _tell your friend, his brothers are not allowed in Finna if they are not going to respect our traditions or religion. If Druid Finn saw this little fiasco he would be furious._ " Ogma's friend returned holding his brothers' hands. He turned to the taller one.

"Zackary " he said sternly. Zackary pulled the idol out from his pocket and gave it to me.

"Sorry for taking your stupid thingy." He said disgustedly. Having got what I came for, I deiced to ignore his calling of an idol a 'stupid thingy' and walked away to put it back but, Mom stopped me.

"Are we forgetting something? They are trying to make peace." She said in a calm tone.

"But I did nothing wrong!" I protested. Mom gave me a glare and I turned to face Zackary.

"Sorry for punching you in your stupid face." I replied disgruntled. Zackary did not take this well and we instantly got into a scrap.

After we were pulled apart Ogma went with his friend to take his brothers home and go to the training core. Mom asked if he wanted us to see him off but he refused the offer and decided to lecture me on mundane things like making sure to brush my teeth and to not bring wild animals home. I decided to let him blabber about this stuff and just look away and nod.

Mom smiled slightly and said with a tint of sadness, " _Dagda would be very proud of you right now_ ". Ogma stopped dead in his tracks.

" _I do not want to hear that from you."_ He said with an angry snarl. I was about to say some angry words to him but Mom turned me around and told me we should get Mrs. Moo Moo. I just realized I left Mrs. Moo Moo all alone. What kind of friend was I? Mom threw the idol back into the lake as I went to apologize to Mrs. Moo Moo. Mrs. Moo Moo was so forgiving. I had to take her home. Mrs. Moo Moo was not much for adventure so she was probably tuckered out. After we had returned Mrs. Moo Moo to her stable, we went by the smithery to pick up Mom's spurs. Taranis was working the counter and stroking his beard. He looked at me and stopped stroking his long red beard.

" _Did we get into a fight_?" he asked, noticing the bruises forming on my face. I looked down at the ground.

" _Yeah_ " I replied.

" _Did you win_?" Taranis asked.

I looked up excitedly and said " _Hell Yeah_!"

As he gave me a high five, he said " _That a girl!_ ". Lugh came out of the smithing area with his smiting apron and kilt still on. He was blond like his father. Both Taranis and Lugh had the same burly body of their father but only Lugh had his blond hair. Taranis had his mother's red hair.

" _How is our little ember? Morgan I assume you're here to pick up your spurs and reign. We are supposed to be leaving for the expedition at seven in the morning, right?"_ Lugh questioned, handing Mom her spurs and reigns with his right hand that had a dara knot tattooed on to it.

I hugged Taranis's leg " _Be safe you two, ok?_ " It was always scary seeing them and Mom leave for an expedition. I know the twins were eleven years older then me and Mom said that they were very strong but I still worried about them. I wanted to be helpful. I wanted to do more then just taking care of the animals and putting flowers in the soldiers' rooms. Druid Finn said that I was good at my studies of healing but my knowledge was not enough for it to be helpful yet. Taranis put his big left had with a dara knot on top of my head.

" _Don't worry, we'll be fine_ _._ " I had heard that before from other soldiers and then they came back dead. I wanted to do something to help ensure that they would come back home alive. Then I got an idea. The adults would more then likely turn it down because of my age but I knew I would be able to be helpful in this way.

" _Ok, let's stop frowning_ " Lugh said as he blew air on to my arm. It tickled and I started laughing. Taranis started to tickle underneath my arms. My mother and I were about to leave the twins father, Goibhniu stepped out of the smithing area.

" _Morgan before you leave I am making a torc for Margawse for our wedding anniversary and I need a woman's thoughts on it."_ He said as he passed my mother a sketch. My mother gave a small smile and said it was beautiful. Mom had such an awesome friendship with Goighniu and Margawse. It must be cool to have friend your age.

I thought we were going home but to my surprise as soon we got home mom donned her 3D- maneuvering gear. She slipped me into the back part and said with a smile, " _I want to show you my favorite part of the forest, it is easier to get there by maneuvering gear_ _._ ". As soon as we got outside the village, mom wired us to the closest tree. I could not contain my joy; I let out a yahoo. This is what it must feel like to be a flacon. Mom flew with the grace and precision of a bird of prey. I hoped when I grew up, I would be just like my mother: strong, skilled, beautiful, kind, respected, and fighting to end this war with the titans. Mom took me to a beautiful lake in the forest that was illuminated by the setting sun. There were two big stones right next to each other near the lake. After we landed Mom put a small rock on each stone as I ran around the clearing. There were so many trees that I would be able to climb and a lake I could swim in. I loved this place. We decided to bath in the lake. I was swimming while Mom stayed stationary under the willow at the side of the lake .I swam past Mom and she grabbed me to hug me. I stopped swimming and hugged her back.

" _This is my favorite part of the forest. I used to play here when I was your age. I am so glad I can show it to you. I am so glad I got to raise you in Finna._ " Mom said as she put my head on her breast.

"Y _ou really love this forest don't you Mom_ " I asked hugging her back.

" _Yes I do. The forest is so beautiful and it brings back so many good memories._ " She answered.

I could feel myself starting to get tired as was the moon was rising. We put our clothes back on and headed back to the village. As we were walking home, a women with beautiful dark brown hair put up in a ponytail and dark brown eyes stopped us to talk to Mom. She was wearing goggles and seemed really excited about something.

"Morgan I would like to discuss the finer points of our plan to capture a-." she stopped talking as she noticed me. "Who is this?" she asked.

My mother said, "This is the child of the Fey family*."

The lady looked confused. "Is that not your family name?" She asked, and Mom nodded. "Oh, is she your daughter? What is her first name?" The lady continued to inquire.

"I can not answer either of those questions. I will explain later." Mom replied. The lady looked extremely confused but seemed content with the promise of the answers to her questions would come later. As a child, I had done nothing of merit thus I was merely a member of the Fey family, but once I was an adult and I could do something of merit I could use my name in public. I did not see why it needed explanation.

She got down to my eye level. " Hello I am Hange Zoe. Pleased to meet you." I remembered the rule of thumb with strangers, wings of freedom were good strangers and the ones that wore a unicorn jacket or a gold necklace with three woman's' faces on it were bad. This woman was wearing none of them, just a dull yellow button down shirt and brown pants. I looked at Mom to see what she thought of the stranger. Mom nodded in approval and I shook her hand.

"I need to get her home. I will see you after I put her to bed." Mom said to Hange as she picked me up. Mom walked home and Hange waved good-bye to us and I waved back.

Mom tucked me into bed and kissed my forehead " _Behave for Druid Finn while I am gone. I love you. Watch my garden while I am gone. I will see you in month "._

" _I love you too Mom. Come back home_." I said as I let myself drift into sleep. I woke up before the sun rose. I donned my green tunic riding pants and my riding boots even though the boots still had some mud on them. Today I would be useful towards this war.

* * *

Authors Notes:

So, at the end of each chapter, a few fun fact about the Celts will be given. More to explain the events of the story and certain scenes that might confuse you.

_Druids are extremely important in Celtic society. On top of being judges, healers, priests, and teachers for their respective villages they are also in charge of keeping the knowledge of the past present and future and guardians of Celtic traditions. To become a druid one must leave their home at the age of 9 and go to a forest for 20 years where along with other potential druids will learn, about the occult rituals, Celtic religion, legends, the gods, use of all weapons, healing, basic science, astronomy, legal matters, pre-wall history, warrior morals, divination, sorcery, advanced military tactics, political science, and Celtic traditions. All of this is passed down orally so all of this must be committed to memory. Most druids specialize in one of these thing but all know who do all of these skills proficiently. It is sort of similar to major and general requirements in modern day colleges. Being a druid is considered one of if not the highest honor in Celtic society. Even if war breaks out, one must never raise a weapon to a druid. It is considered the highest crime in the Celtic society to kill a druid, even more then rape or abandonment of duty/post, the second highest crimes._

_*The Celts were an extremely proud group of people. A parent wasn't supposed to acknowledge their child in public until they were recognized in their village as a warrior. To be recognized as a warrior, they needed to complete training, which usually lasts from the ages of 6 to the age of 12, where the child is supposed to master a weapon. Therefore, in public the child is simply referred to by their family name (i.e. The child of the _ family...)_

Most importantly, if you have any questions about the actions of any of the Celts, don't hesitate to ask, in either a PM or a review and we'll respond in the next chapter (before the chapter begins) or in a PM. (Or however this works...) 

Thanks for reading this far! Hope you enjoyed it.


	2. Actions of the Fool-Hearted

_The only time in the wall that war was ever close to breaking out was in 777 when the druids tried to pass on their knowledge of the walls building and origin to the generation of people who were born inside the wall. The druids were killed and so was any Celt that could have had the possibility of having the knowledge of the walls building. Centuries of knowledge were lost forever. After all Celts pulled out of the King's military, took over a decent portion of the King's territory and were ready to lay siege to the king's palace. To avoid war, a cease-fire was negotiated. Part of this included: that druids would be exempt for any sort of military draft; Celts cannot join the military police, Celts would live separately from Non-Celts; Intermarriage between Celts and Non-Celts was illegal, Celtic villages were considered sovereign nations, they could make their own laws but still had to pay taxes to the King to use walls Maria and Rose; neither Celt or military police could enter the others' territory armed; The Celts would not get help from the king if famine, plague or titans hit their villages nor the king from the Celts if the same hit his people; Worship of pagan gods especially those who required human sacrifice would be illegal (only_ _animism would be_ _legal.); and writing down of druidic knowledge in the common language would be illegal; Celts are not allowed in the interior unless there for military business; Druids are not allowed in non- Celtic Villages. If a Celtic bounty hunter took care of a bandit strong hold all thing that counted as supplies (weapons, food, water, etc.) would go to their village, luxuries and money was negotiable, the Celts could keep the territory they captured if they promised to not make any attempt to expand again. The Celts happily accepted most of the treaty having lost trust in those who did not share their culture. The Celts refer to this as the druid's war. The monarchy refers to it as forest skirmishes._

* * *

Chapter 2: Actions of the Fool-Hearted

Bridget 842:

After getting dressed in my riding pants and boots, I grabbed Ogma's notes on giants and shoved them into one of Mom's old backpacks that she no longer used. Luckily for me, Mom was a heavy sleeper and a late riser, so I knew I had a good amount of time before she got up. I crept into the kitchen and packed some rations into a backpack. That was the easy part. Now came the hard part.

I slowly opened the door to Mom's room. I decided the best course of action was to crawl over to the chest in Mom's room. Slowly and carefully I opened the chest. I looked at Mom to see if she had stirred. She was fast asleep and turned away from me. I grabbed the javelins and javelin belt and crept out of her room, slowly and quietly. I softly shut the door behind me. I crept out of the house before donning them. It wouldn't be unusual for me not be around when Mom woke up, so she would not think anything was amiss. The supply carts were loaded up the night before so no one would see me go inside one. The question was in which one to hide. Mike's nose was a big problem. He could smell me easily so I needed to hide in something that would mask my scent from him. The thought of using perfume came to mind but the problems with that would be too great. For one, what would be a scent that hides me instead of making me stick out? And second, where would I get some? No one I knew wore anything that sound like that.

After about ten minutes of searching I found the cart with food in it. There were large sacks of dried fruit. I guessed these were fragrant enough to hide my scent from Mike. I pushed myself in between the sacks and arranged them in a way I could not be seen by the driver or someone walking by the cart. To put the finishing touch I put the tarp back over them. I took out a piece of barley bread and started eating it. I was really starting to wish I brought some bilberry jam.

Now came the hardest part of my plan.

Sitting still long enough for them not to notice me.

As far as I had gathered, Titans were just giants without sexual organs and who were mute. Giants were simply huge humans; therefore a javelin to the heart should kill them. I decided to see how people had slain giants before. I pulled out Ogma's notes on the giant legends. If anything could be said about Ogma is he was organized and luckily in Gallic. I realized that we had started to move. I tried to move into a position that would not move the sacks but still give me good lighting for reading. I don't know how long I spent trying to solve this problem. It suddenly felt slightly warmer and suddenly it was much easier to read.

At first I was happy but this feeling was quickly replaced with fright when I realized this meant that the tarp must have been removed. I turned around to see a 1-meter titan staring down at me. Its menacing glare was piercing into my soul. I tried to crawl away but the titan quickly picked me up. I kicked it as hard as I could but all this did was make it angrier. It held me over the edge of the cart.

"Morgan, why is it that whenever I see this kid, she get me dirty?"

Taranis giggled and turned to Lugh. "Hear that? She gets Levi dirty, Lugh."

Lugh snickered and said in a joking tone "I don't know Levi. I always took you for the little boy type."

The titan they called Levi refused to put me down. I had seen the titan around the village recently. Mom claimed he was human but someone never spoke and was that terrify could not be human. Levi turned to them still maintaining his evil glare. "This is not funny you two. What if we did not discover her until we left the walls? "

I was about to tell them how I could have been useful until I saw Mom. Her glare was scarier than the titan's. Before I fully understood what was going on I was on the ground and there was a sharp pain on the left side of my face. The javelins I had brought had scattered everywhere. Mom picked one up one and with the blunt end stabbed me with it in the upper right part of my back. She pulled my hair to where the back of my head was touching my back.

" _You stupid child. You have not even mastered fighting humans, what made think you could possibility even scratch a titan?_ " She said as she pulled my hair.

I replied honestly. " _The king's trainees only train for 3 years before they are considered strong enough to fight titans I have been training for just as long. I can be useful._ "* This only seemed to make Mom angrier and she pulled my hair harder. " _I just wanted to be useful_."

The lady called Hange picked me up. "She is just a child. Don't you think you are being a bit harsh?" She asked Mom.

"I understand what you are trying to do but, do not get in the raven queens way. She will mess you up." Taranis said to Hange.

"Do you think the Titans would have cared that she is just a child?" Mom replied. Hange put me down and knelt down to my eye level. "Your attempt to help is appreciated" Hange said picking up a javelin and looking at it she handed it back to me "but only the 3-D gear work against titans these would have not hurt them at all."

Mom interrupted her. "If you were to come on an expedition at your current strength you would be nothing but a burden. You're not strong enough to be helpful yet. I will tell you when you are strong enough. I do not want to see you do this ever again. Do I make myself clear?" Mom's angry glare was piercing and crushing at the same time.

I could feel myself starting to cry.  _How shameful_ , I thought to myself. "I won't. I just wanted to be useful." Hange asked me if I could read common. I nodded yes. "A little bit." Druid Finn focused more on me memorizing what I heard. He considered looking something up as cheating, so he did not focus on it a lot especially something in another language.

"There is an archive in the recon base. Could you take notes on the books you can read for me?" She asked with a kind smile. I nodded yes. "Alright we need to have someone take her home." Mom started to look around. Her face looked very annoyed. I heard a horse galloping at full speed.

It was Margwase. "Thank goodness you guys didn't get too far! We think-!"

"We found the little stow away already. Can you take her home? She has slowed us down enough for today." The titan called Levi said, interrupting Margwese.

Margwase smacked me on the head. "And I thought when Lugh and Taranis tried to get together an army of wild dogs was dangerously stupid but this takes the prize. What were you thinking?"

"Mom!" Lugh and Taranis blushed and shouted in unison. Like that, we parted ways. Once I got back to the village I got a lecture from every single adult in the village but the one I worried about the most was Druid Finn's. I knew I had to face him eventually so I might as well get it over with. I mean Mom was already disappointed in me and upset with me, not to mention I did the shameful act of crying in public so it could not get much worse.

I slowly opened to door to Druid Finn's study. I peeked in to the study. I held my body close to the door. He was an old man. His silver hair was slicked back. He wore a brown robe with intricate blue embroidery on the bottom and the wide sleeves. He always carried around an oak staff with a dog carved on the head that he used as a walking stick. He was looking at a parchment without turning from his parchment he instructed me to sit on the stool facing him. The walls were covered with different kinds of weapons, pictures of different kinds of fortresses, armors, helmets, war horns and different magical charms for protection and strength. I sat down with my hands in my lap. " _What was going through your head when you were trying to go on that expedition child? What were you hoping to accomplish?_ "Druid Finn said as started to face me. His voice was stern and carried a hint of frustration and anger.

" _I want to be useful towards this war and make a higher chance of Mom, Lugh, Taranis, and Mike coming home. I know if we allow the titan siege to continue humanity will eventual run out of supply and will not be able to replenish vital resources and be eliminated as a species. I mean that is the point of a siege right? If you cannot break the enemies' defenses you make sure that they cannot resupply and they either surrender or die in their own fortress. I want to make sure humans are not forced to kill each other for resources. I don't want the choice of a friend's life or a stranger's life to be a common occurrence._ " I started to tear up, but quickly rubbed them away. They came back.  _"I just want to help them end this siege and stop the impending doom that humanity is facing. I want to be their ally; a strong ally. I want this war to end and stop seeing the people I love die. I want to be useful. I want them to come home._ " I could not hold it in any more I started to cry. Druid Finn put his hand on my head.

" _Right now you are not strong enough or knowledgeable enough to be useful towards the war effort, but you at least have the will to fight. Many people do not have that. There are three types of people who need to be protected: the civilian, who has neither the will nor the strength to fight. The coward, who has the strength to fight but, not the will and the fool hearted, those who have the will but not the strength. Luckily for you all you need is the strength and you have me to help you with that. You are a very bright little girl and have a lot of potential. You just need to work hard to see that potential reached. Do you understand?"_ I nodded my head while sobbing. " _You won't try this again. We will say when you are ready. I now you think what your mother did was harsh but she did it because she loves you. Do you understand?_ " Druid Finn asked. I nodded again. " _Your weapon and basic military tactics lesson will start in four hours I expected you at the tree ready and prepared by then._ " He said as he turned back to his work.

I rubbed my eyes more, and then suddenly remembered what the nice lady Hange asked me to do. " _Do you have a key to the recon corps archive_?"

He turned to me angrily, " _Bridget, what did we just-_ ".

I interrupted him even though I know I wasn't supposed to. " _A nice lady asked me to take notes on some books there for her._ "

Druid Finn had a look on his face as though a revelation had just come to him. " _Fire when left to its own devices is dangerous and uncontrollable but give it a task and then…"_  he said while putting his thumb in his mouth. He did that whenever he was thinking hard about something. " _Bridget, remember when I said that if you were diligent you could master the spear in a year?"_ He asked.

" _Yes._ " I replied nervously.

" _I am going to have you master it in six months._ " For reasons unknown to me, my training and lessons got more intense and longer from then on. I liked that, but I also had more chores.

* * *

_The Celts, not being the best of merchants are usual easily tricked by outsider merchants into paying more for something or buying something useless. Most Celtic villages trade with each other using a mix of bartering and coins to get what they want. Primarily, villages in wall Maria have good raw material while the villages in wall Rose is known for its crafts-men. However, each are present in both walls. Most villages try to be as self-sufficient as possible and only taking as much as the Celtic community needs from mother earth._

_A hand and half sword can take anywhere from 5 -25 years of intense training to fully master. This weapon is much less complex then the 3-D maneuvering gear. For a warrior society where some children could start training as early the age of 5 and having it end at around 17, a three year training program for soldiers must seem anywhere from strange to down-right foolish. I can see the training time for the 3-D gear and ill-prepare soldiers a common criticism of the King's Military from the Celts._


	3. Coming Homw

Chapter 3: Coming Home

 

_The druids and bards name all Celtic babies based on what they see in the child’s soul. The name they receive is that of a god or hero that is no longer worshiped and name and purpose is only known to the druids and bards. It is the Celts way of blessing their children and keeping the gods alive._

 

842 Morgan:

Shiganshina’s bell rang to inform the garrison to lift the gate to allow us back into the safety of the wall. As usual our mission was a failure. No new territory was gained and our attempt to capture a titan alive was a failure and we lost 12 people in the attempt. I tried to hold my head as high as I could so that the new recruits would not be too disheartened. I turned to look at Levi to see how he was doing; this was his first time out of the wall after all. That I knew of, at least. After all, he did seem less rattled then the other new recruits.

 

“Morgan,” He said my name simply and without emotion or blinking, as if trying to pick which words he was going to use next. “Are you always.... like _that_ while fighting titans?“

 

I was surprised. What was that supposed to mean?

 

“That's... how everyone was trained to fight.” I responded, trying to figure out what he was getting to. “Were you afraid of them?”

 

Again not blinking or making any hint of emotion in his voice, he responded. “I found you much more terrifying.” He then turned his head and looked away. His horse suddenly picking up speed and he was soon ahead of me and out of reach.

 

I almost laughed.

 

A tall handsome man with bright golden hair parted on the right with light blue eyes lead his horse toward Levi. I recognized him as a fellow squad leader but that was the only thing I knew about him. The Caledonii twins were right behind him.

 

“Levi, I am surprised to see you here. I thought you would have been in training longer,“ This blond-haired stranger said to him. The twins rode right next to Levi making sure his horse was in between theirs. Each twin then proceed to take a cheek and forced the much smaller man to smile.

 

“That is because 1-meter titan here is a quick study.” Lugh stated. “Morgan thought he was ready. “

 

“He was already exceptional with the 3-D gear. All I needed to do was show him how to use those skills to kill titans. “ I added.

 

“And it takes a lot to impress the raven queen here.“ Lugh said to reassure the blond man.

 

“So Baby’s first time outside the wall. Are you proud Morgan?“ Taranis joked.

 

While crushing the twins’ fingers Levi snarled with an angry tone and glare. “Fuck. You. All.“

 

It seemed his annoyance was not only directed at the twins.

 

“Love you too, buddy!” The twins said in unison after they wrenched their fingers from Levi’s grasp. They both then wrung out their hands, eventually getting the feeling back in them.

 

The blond-haired man looked nervous now. “Nice to see you have made some new friends, Levi.“

 

Levi turned to the blond man, giving him a glare that would send a normal man running. “ Erwin, you and Mike sent me to a little piece of hell. That village is horrible. First off, those two live there-,“ He motioned toward the twins, who waved back in response. “-and Morgan’s daughter is the biggest trouble maker I've ever seen!“

 

“She's more of a trouble finder.” I responded, in my daughters defense. While it was true that Bridget did get into a lot of trouble, it was rude to say that she was entirely at fault for everything. In fact, most of the time she wasn't.... I sighed. Most of the time...

 

“Yeah, we actually make trouble.” Lugh and Taranis protested in unison. “We are so offended that you don’t know the difference.” They turned to me. “Do out efforts really go that unnoticed.”

 

I didn't respond to this.

 

“I guess we need to try harder.” Lugh said, looking at his twin.

 

“Please don’t,” I quickly said.

 

The blond-haired man held out his hand. “You must be Morgan. I am Erwin Smith.”

 

I shook Erwin’s hand. “Morgan Fey. Charmed”.

 

“Levi has told me that Finna has a druid that specializes in warfare. Do you think he has any information on formations? The current ones we are using I think are very ineffective and disorganized.”

 

I sighed. ”Formations are not really our thing and if one relies on them too much, more die when they fall into disarray. I feel it is better to increase the quality of each individual solider, but if any one has information on these formations, it would be Druid Finn.” I replied, and paused. I sighed again. “Good luck getting it out of him though. He is not very willing to share that kind of information. Especially with outsiders.” There was no way the last part could be emphasized enough.

 

“I am sure if I tell him it is for the war effort he will be willing to share.” Erwin smiled.

 

“I really doubt that,“ I thought to myself. Druid Finn was extremely distrustful of outsiders. I remember as a child him always telling us that just because we were no longer at war with the outsiders did not mean that there would not be at war with them in the future.

 

Alliances are fickle, he had said, and some are not as willing to keep up their part of treaties. Information is an extremely powerful weapon and deadly in the wrong hands.

 

That is why the druids saw writing down of knowledge a disgusting and foolish practice which lead to the fall of many a nation. If someone who you did not want to see it get it, it would be devastating. If you do not write it down the only information people would get is what you tell them or what they get from your corpse.

 

He seemed to be teaching Bridget the same thing.

 

To be honest, I had to agree with Druid Finn. This world was cold and cutthroat and sheltering Bridget from that would be a disservice to her.

 

As bitter as it sounded, we needed to be careful with whom we trusted. For now, the survey core seemed like a reliable ally. They have given us no reason to distrust them so sharing that kind of information with them could be a possibility.

 

But there was still Druid Finn.

 

“So will you take me to Finna? My home is in wall Rose and going through Finna is not very direct for me.” Erwin asked me.

 

“Trust me,” Levi interrupted him. “You don’t want to go there.“

 

I shook my head and sighed. “Alright, I'll just need to do an errand. It will take no more then 5 minutes. I will meet everyone at the gate of Wall Maria and I will take you there.”

 

Erwin agreed and the twins decided to follow me on my errand. There was a good general store that displayed the prices of each item. This was a better practice then asking the store owner and being told an inflated price which was common at other stores in the district. It was right next to the town hall where the records were kept. That was also the place where Ogma’s friend worked with his father.

 

Ogma’s friend was very clever boy with a knack for mechanics. It was nice to see that Ogma had a friend that had a similar interest to him. I think he made Ogma feel like less of a black sheep like he did around Bridget and me. It was good that my son had found such a good friend.

 

I stepped into the general store. There were two children hunched over a book in the corner. They were both boys and they looked to be around my daughter’s age. I started looking at parchments, inks, and quills. Hopefully, I would get a letter from Ogma and I could send some back. If I didn't, I would leave him alone.

 

The twins started fooling around with other various products in the store.

 

To be honest, I don't do much writing outside of paper work so I didn't really know what to get. The blond child must have noticed I was having a hard time deciding because he came over and started telling me about the different quills and inks.

 

The twins noticed the book and tried to peek into it. The dark haired child held it close to his body refusing to let the twins see its contents.

 

“That book is illegal, isn’t it?“ I whispered to the blond child. His surprised and frightened expression only confirmed my suspicions. I smiled, “Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone”. The blond child looked relieved once I said that. “Just be careful,” I warned. “That no one else see's-.” I was interrupted as a man that was clearly from wealth entered the store. He looked around, as if searching for something. He turned and started walking towards me. The twins quickly noticed this. Lugh’s nostrils flared with rage. Taranis positioned himself so that the man could not see the dark haired child nor the book. The dark-haired child didn't get this memo, and tried to move to a different place. Taranis continued to block him, till the dark-haired kid started to punch him. They didn't have any effect.

 

“I heard there were some of your kind in town.” The man said and my full attention turned back toward him. “There is a man who has been a troublesome competitor to my business and I was wondering if you could help me take care of this problem.” The man said as he took out a coin bag. Within seconds Lugh was towering over the man.

 

“Hey shit head,” Lugh growled, about to punch the man. I gave Lugh a glare and he stopped. If a fight were to break out, the children could get caught in the cross fire and I could never forgive myself if one of those boys got ever a splinter because of our negligence. This would have to be settled diplomatically. I turned to the man still maintaining my glare.

 

“We do not wish to participate in your illicit actives, nor do we appreciate your offer. Now I suggest you leave before I lose my temper.“ I gently brushed my left index finger on one of my 3-D gear's sword. The man took the hint and quickly exited the store.

 

Unfortunately this was not an uncommon occurrence when we went to outsider towns. Asking if we were here for a bounty was fine but asking to be the muscle for some illicit deal was unacceptable.

 

Once the man was clearly out of sight Taranis stepped out of the dark-haired boys way. It seemed that he no longer wanted to get past Taranis, however and continued to punch leg. I paid the blond-haired boy for the quill, ink and parchment. Then I turned to the dark-haired child with the same glare I gave Lugh earlier. He immediately stopped punching Taranis. “Even I can see that your punches are weak.” I told him. “”Try imagining punching something behind your intended target and they should have more power.” The boy seemed to ponder this for a moment. The he proceeded to try this out on a wall. He seemed very focused on it as we left.

 

We arrived at the gate of wall Maria. Mike, Erwin, Levi, and Hange were all there. Erwin and Mike were talking, like they knew eachother. Mike stopped when he saw me. We had not seen each other in a while. It was nice to catch up with an old friend. We started to do some idle chatting.

 

“You two know each other?” Erwin asked, looking puzzled.

 

Mike nodded. “Remember Dagda? She was married to him.”

 

“Dagda was married?” Erwin looked shocked. “He never mentioned it. He never mentioned it at all.”

 

Mike nodded. “He had a son, and a daughter on the way at the time of his death.” This seemed to sadden Erwin more. I saw Levi look at Erwin questioningly, but he didn't say anything. His eyes seemed to focus on how uncomfortable that the blond-haired man looked.

 

I simply smiled and let Erwin continue to think he was shielding me from the truth I had found out long ago.

 

 

The journey to Finna was merely idle chitchat that I only engaged in if I was specifically addressed. We arrived in the late afternoon, riding down the narrow bridge in single file. The carts had to be very careful not to make any sudden movements or else they might slip into the murky lake. Levi was complaining how long it would take and it was always annoying coming into the village. We started to see the plain and humble rounded wooden houses. Each one had a small garden by its side so, that each family could grow their own food. We brought the wounded into the barracks right next to the bridge and started to unload the dead and supply.

 

One of the Celtic soldiers sounded the battle horn to signal to Druid Finn that there were wounded who needed immediate treatment.

 

Hange was quickly fascinated by this horn and ask what seemed to be like a hundred questions a minute about it. What animal was it craved to look like? Was it always used for that purpose? What was its current purpose? What was the symbolism in its design?

 

The solider, eventually overwhelmed, ended up just handing it to her. Hange inspected it from every angle and started to blow into it again and again and again.

 

Levi quickly snatched it out of her hands.

 

“We know it's fun to play with. We used to mess with it all the time as kids.” The twins said to Hange.

 

I remembered that all too well. They stopped playing with it after they accidentally created the signal for titans breaking the wall. That was an event.

 

Levi gave them a cold glare. “Don’t encourage her.” he spat. People started to come over to see if their loved ones had returned. Druid Finn appeared, looking annoyed and with his healer’s bag on his shoulder.

 

“I am old, not deaf you two.” He spat towards the twins.

 

Hange was about to take responsibility until Mike covered her mouth and nodded no. Druid Finn instructed one of the soldiers to direct him to the wounded. Erwin tried to get Druid Finn’s attention but I stopped him. “It's best not to interrupt him during his work.” I warned.

 

Margwase and Goibhniu came up and hugged their sons. Margwase was crying tears of joy that both her sons had returned. Goibhniu told them how proud he was of them and he was glad they were safe. I saw Bridget rushing towards me in her green mantle cloak and long shelve dress and holding a crown of lavender flowers and stray pieces of parchment.

 

She was about to hug my leg, but then remembered the proper way to greet me in public. She knelt on one knee.

 

“Welcome home Lady Fey. I missed you.” She said and I patted her on the head.

 

“I missed you too.” I told her. She looked around to see who else had returned, lighting up when she saw the twins and became excited when she saw Mike had returned as well. She even smiled when she saw Hange.

 

She rushed over with her lavender crown to Mike who was still talking to Erwin. She knew that she was not suppose to interrupt adults while they were talking so she tried to wait. Like most children, she quickly grew impatient.

 

She squeaked and flailed her arms to get Mike’s attention. Without taking his eyes off of Erwin he picked her up. She smiled and hugged him after she put the lavender flower crown onto his head. A twinge of jealousy flowed through my breast at that moment. I very jealous of Mike, how he was allowed to be affectionate towards Bridget in public and I could not. I just had to remind my self that as her mother it was my job to prepare her for this cruel, harsh and unforgiving world and not to shower her with love. Although sometimes I wish it was.

 

Erwin knelt down to Bridget’s eye level. “Hello, You must be Dagda and Morgan’s daughter. I worked with your father, Dagda. I am pleased to meet you. What’s your name?” Erwin said in a calm and sweet tone while he extended his hand. Bridget looked at his hand and then his face. He gave a small smile. She buried her face into Mike’s chest. Having never known her father, saying that one worked with him had no meaning to her.

 

Mike smiled. “ He works with me,” he told her.

 

“ _Don’t be shy. It makes you appear weak._ “ I told her in Gaellic, sternly.

 

She turned to face Erwin again, looking at his face. Erwin smiled again and Bridget shook his hand.

 

 

Margwase invited us all to dinner. Hange happily accepted. Levi and Mike accepted with a silent nod and Erwin said he felt as though he could not impose. Goibhniu put his hand on Erwin’s shoulder

 

“You are probably the reason our boys are alive, it is the least we can do”.

 

Only after those kind words did Erwin accept the offer.

 

Margwase turned to Bridget, “ _Could you help me set the table, little ember?_ ” Bridget started to run towards the twins’ house but then stopped as if she forgot something. She scurried to Hange.

 

“Here are the notes you asked for, super cool lady.” Bridget said, saluting Hange and then running off.

 

“She’s so cute.” Erwin commented. I had a feeling he liked children.

 

“She cute now.” Levi said, warningly. “But you won't not find her so cute when she uses your cravat to blow her nose or when you find a wild boar in your room.”

 

I smiled, it was nice to be home with my daughter.

 

_Celts must go through Pre-Cadet training before they are allowed to enter the Training Core by the village bard or druid. If they fail any of the exercises they are not allowed to enter the training core by Celtic law. This happens from ages 9 to 13. On top of their usual warrior training they are taught to dual wield swords, acrobats, wilderness survival skills, horseback riding, and endurance, 3-D spatial logic, fort building, fort defending and solider morals and conduct. Before they can even under go this training they must first prove they have the balance for the 3-D. Because of this training, not a single Celt has died in the Training Core. This cannot be said for the Celts who have join the Survey core._

 

 


	4. Balancing Work and Motherhood

Chapter 4: Balancing work and motherhood

 

_The Celts use a fighting style called Furor Celtica. Which roughly translates to Celtic fury. It is a mix of glass cannon and fragile speeders. The style prefers slashes to stabbing and power from speed and momentum to raw muscle power. The attacks are vicious and frenzied. Users of this style prefer no or light armor as not weigh them down. The advantages to this style of fighting are its power and speed. One can usually end a battle quickly and easily by not giving ones opponent the chance to attack and force them on the defense. Its also very good for one on one battle. The down side is this fighting style requires a lot of energy and vigor, if someone survives the onslaught the fighter is usually at the mercy of their opponent and there is little emphasis on team work or formations. The Furor Celtica transitioned well into 3-D gear fighting but it does takes up a lot a gas. Therefore, the Celts usually make great scouts and cover team._

 

_The Celts still keep up their own royal court in the Celtic Capital of Camelot in Wall Rose. The courts are divvied by Gaul, Hibernia, Pickland, and Britannia. The High Kings or Queens of each nation rule over their own warrior council have their own champion and are responsible for the descents of their land. The throne to each is given to the first-born child or marital partner. The first born of each high king or queen is raised by a different family and is only revealed to the world upon coronation. They must also have completed warrior training and be married to obtain the throne._

 

 

842

Morgan:

 

The dinner was mostly idle chat. Erwin seemed to get a kick out of Bridget. Taranis was trying to find a way that hammers could be used as an effective weapon against titans. Hange disagreed with him, as we all did, though she seemed to humor the idea the most and enjoyed the mental experiment.

 

The chat continued like this until Levi blurted out, in frustration with a bit of Erwin’s kind hearted but unsolicited advice, “you are not my father, Erwin.” I kinda wish I heard the first part of that conversation. Was that... red on his cheeks? Oh, I really want to know what the first part of that conversation was.

 

Bridget stopped stuffing her face and turned to me. “What makes Dagda my father and not Mike? Mike does all the stuff Goibhniu does for Lugh and Taranis but for me and he's their father?”

 

I was very glad Ogma was not around to hear that. The fit he would have had if he had heard Bridget say that.

 

Of course, I could see how she could think this. Mike had baby-sat her and Ogma when she was an infant and I had to support the family with some jobs while I was on leave. I told him it was too much to ask of a friend but he kept insisting. That's how I learned that his parents disowned him for joining the recon core instead of becoming a perfumer like them. He had no home to return to anyway, and with Dagda gone, he told me he had to do something. He was truly a good friend like that. I suppose it was only a matter of time until Bridget questioned his status as my friend and not her father. To her, Mike was her father anyway, regardless of what I've told her about Dagda.

 

This made me happy and sad all at once.

 

That being said, I knew she would keep pestering everyone at the table and me about it til it was answered so I decided to tell her. “Dagda impregnated me with you. That is what makes him your father.”

 

“So if Mike became your lover then-.” She began, but both Mike and I cut her off.

 

“No and not going happen.”

 

All the outsiders were blushing while the Celts were giggling. Well that was embarrassing. The thought of being lovers never crossed Mike’s or my mind and to have that suggested at the table. I would need to have a stern talk with her later. I could feel my cheeks getting warmer. I saw Mike burying his face in his hands and could hear his stifled laughter.

 

“I apologize, Mike she sees you as.” I began, but Mike held up a hand, silencing me through his laughter. Well, at least one of us thought it was funny.

 

“She... knows where babies come from?” Erwin seemed very culture shocked. I was confused he was focused on that, but then remembered his background.

 

“Yes, we Celts learn at a very early age compared to you guys.” I answered trying to reassure Erwin it was fine.

 

“Isn’t that…. Well… She is a child; she should have some childhood innocence.” Erwin still seemed culture shocked. This was a concept the outsiders seemed to have. They seemed to allow their children to indulge in their childhood ignorance and they call it innocence. It seemed foreign and foolish to me.

 

“I warned you they were strange.” Levi spat.

 

It was at times like this when I was around outsiders I would wonder if I was raising my children right.

 

“Better then what you guys do.” Margwase blurted angrily. “Some children will go to the training core not know what puberty is and will be convinced that they are cursed and the only was to break the curse is to run around naked during morning formation.” As she said this, she glared at her sons.

 

“That... is an oddly specific example.” Erwin noted. I swear I could hear the twins high-five each other under the table, which was promptly followed by the twins get smacked up side the head by the closest parent. Erwin quickly realized why the example was so specific and buried his face in his hand.

 

Rubbing the back of his head Lugh turned to Bridget. “When you go to the training core you will be informed of 50 rules on the first day all made because of us.”

 

“That is not something to be proud of.“ Goibhniu glared at his sons.

 

It was getting late so each of went to our respective dwellings. I allowed Mike and Erwin to stay in the kids’ room and Hange to sleep on the couch. Levi went to his room in the barracks. Bridget would sleep in my bed tonight. She went off so easily I did not even have to tell her the story of Queen Boudicca. I smiled.

 

My little girl was growing up to be strong in body and mind with an accurate view of the world, but when she was around outsiders they seemed so disturbed by that. Erwin asked where her innocence was and I would ask myself where was that innocence in this world. I kept thinking back to those two children in the general store. If the twins and I were not there and the man had come in and seen their illegal book would they have been able to defend them selves. I unfortunately knew that answer was no.

 

Is it not a parent’s job to make sure that their child could defend themselves and take care of themselves if they were not around?

 

Do outsiders truly believe that they will always be there to take care of their child or that the world they tell their children exist is reality?

 

To me outsider parents seemed irresponsible and foolish but I probably seemed cold and distant to them. I did everthing I could to make sure Ogma and Bridget were strong enough to face any challenge they might face in this world. I suddenly remembered Dagda and how he would constantly shower Ogma with praise, gifts and affection to the point of it being shameful. Dagda would always tell Ogma about what he was doing right and make no attempt correct his flaws. Dagda was clearly Ogma’s favorite parent. He seemed very upset when it was my turn to take care of him and Dagda’s turn to work. I some times that was how one was suppose to raise a child. I started to wonder if Bridget believed me when I said I loved her. Dagda, my ex-boyfriends and Ogma would complain I was not exactly the warmest or most affectionate person.

 

I decided I needed a walk to clear my mind or maybe I could tend to the garden. That was always nice and relaxing for me. I donned my gray hooded dress with black embroidery, my black mantle cloak and my sword. I had just walked out of my room to see Hange sitting at the table drooling in her sleep and Erwin in the chair right next to hers reading something by candle light. He seemed extremely focused on whatever he was reading because he did not seem to notice the candle had gotten too short. I slowly walked up behind him to see what he was reading. As I feared he was attempting to read Ogma’s notes. The fact that they were in Gaelic did not seem to stop Erwin from trying to figure out what it said. I walked up behind Erwin bent over and pulled Ogma’s notes out from under Erwin’s finger. “ And what are we doing up at this hour?” I asked him while leaning over him.

 

Erwin turned around and looked at me directly in the eyes. “Attempting to decipher your son’s notes for any useful information on creating a better formation that might increase survival rate outside the wall ultimately helping humanity reclaim the territory humanity lost to the titans and or the origin of the titans ”

 

At least he was honest. Though, something about that kinda annoyed me. “Any luck?” I asked while taking the seat to his right.

 

“The only thing I can get is from illustrations but nothing of any use to me has come to light.“ Erwin said as he cupped his hands and weaved together his fingers. After a moment of silence he turned to face and blurted, “Your people don’t trust us, do they?” It sounded as though his voice was tinged with melancholy, even though his expression seemed hardened.

 

“What gives you that impression?“ I was quite curious to see what he had gathered, and why it took him so long to bring it up. I was doubtful that he was now noticing, so...

 

“Well there are many signs. I noticed that the village was designed for defending against humans even if they were in the village. First off I noticed that there are no windows on the barracks that face the outside of the village; Probably in fear that someone from inside the village might message someone on the outside through discreet secret code. Second the only ways to get into the village are by boat and that narrow bridge. Both would be cumbersome for large forces on foot or horse. You guys have even prepared for 3-D gear. The lake is wider then the 3-D’s wires; I do not believe that is natural and I noticed that the trees near the edge of the lake branches are trimmed to not extend over the lake in order to make sure there in nothing for the wires to attach to. None of the other trees in the forest had trimmed branches. There seems to be soil that is not the same near the edge of the lake. I suspect there where trees there that were cut down and the soil that was left over from extending the lake was deposited there. This village was build with the idea in mind of defending against humans.” He stopped, and turned to me. “Do I need to go on?”

 

I gave a small nod. “The depth of the lake would slow titans down but only enough for an evacuation, but your deductions are correct. The village is primarily fortified to defend against humans.” This seemed to have put Erwin in a pensive trance.

 

“Do you believe the Celts plan on going to war with the king?” He asked not a hint of emotion was in his voice just staring straight forward. His grasp seemed to tighten on his own hand.

 

I looked at the door to my room, the door which just beyond Bridget slept.

 

“I don’t think we plan to... but we are prepared to if that Roman blooded king tries to take our resources, kill our druids or force his way of life upon us again. The Celts of Gaul and Britannia know full well the power and cruelty of the Romans. Only Pickland and Hibernia Celts were not subjected to their bloody conversion. Those who wanted to keep their way of life were either killed, raped and did so in secret. They forced us to change our way of life and give our resources to them. They told us our gods were demons, that our religion was wicked and illegal. My people just got them out of Britania right before the titans appeared. Both my mother and father would tell me stories of my ancestors having their culture repressed by the Romans. How they could only be themselves in secret. How high and low princes and princesses had to pretend to be peasants to live as they watched their parents die before their eyes. It sounded so horrible. Nothing was your own and this was for the upper class. I sometime wonder what it was like for the peasantry. We simply want to practice our religion and culture freely. We want to live, grow and adopt things on our own accord not his. That is one reason why we want our Islands back so bad. We are tired of being forced to be someone we are not for outsiders. If we have our Islands just maybe we can be ourselves. That is why I fight. For a chance for my daughter, son and I to live as whom we are with out worry about being hated for it. ”

 

Erwin seemed very vexed. “It is not going to be easy to get information out of Druid Finn is it?” he finally realized.

 

“If you want a bit of friendly advice the only way you are going to get anything out of him is to convince him it is useless to you or it will not be a threat to the Celts in your hands. A direct approach is better then an interact one with him.” I advised Erwin.

 

“I see...” He was silent for a few minutes, but I could see the wheels of his mind turning through his eyes. It was interesting. “Where... did your parents come from?”

 

I wasn't expecting a question directed at my families origins, but I answered anyway. “My mother was from Gaul and my father was from Britannia. Dagda’s family was purely from Hibernia. Why do you ask?”

 

Erwin seemed slightly nervous. “Well, Dagda was a friend of mine. I was just wondering what kind of women he was married to. And I guess also your take on Dagda. He was a drinking buddy of mine and I worked with the man for years. I thought I knew him pretty well and then I found out he was married. So I guess I realized I did not know him as well as I thought.”

 

It was then I decided to make some Camille tea to help Erwin and I go to sleep. “My take on Dagda was that he was a very good solider, friend and man. I miss him very much at times. As a father I felt he babied Ogma too much, but he was still a good one. He was not a good husband.” Erwin stared aat me for a few seconds. I thought he was expecting more. “That is all I will say on this subject” I clarified, maybe in an unessessary commanding tone.

 

I poured the tea and put it on the table.

 

I decided I no longer needed the walk even though my mind was less clear then before. Before I shut the door to my room I made sure to tell Erwin not to tell Druid Finn about Ogma’s notes. If Druid Finn found out about them he would burn them. I was eventually able to doze off to sleep. I woke up to Bridget jumping on the bed around me. Just another morning as a mother, I thought to myself.

 

“Mother I have class mates! Super cool lady and Mr. Eyebrows are going to come with me to lessons today.” Bridget said elated bouncing on the bed in circles around me. An eight year old with this much energy especially in the morning was a bad combination. She suddenly stopped, “Ohh right, why I came in here. Breakfast is ready.” After that announcement she immediately darted out the door into the kitchen.

 

Way too much energy.

 

I dragged myself out of bed, put on my grey shirt and the rest of my uniform and 3-D gear. I staggered into the kitchen and slumped into the closest chair. I could hear Mike getting the same wake up call as I did.

 

Erwin was the one cooking.

 

“How did you?” I was astonished.

 

Erwin interrupted me and smiled “ I told her I needed the practice and she was impeding my growth.”

 

I couldn't keep the laugh in. “You sneaky bastard.” I decided to stagger to counter to make my guest steeped dandelion roots to drink. I could see Mike getting dragged into the kitchen still in his pajamas and hair disheveled. His eyes were not even fully opened.

 

After breakfast Bridget eagerly pulled Hange and Erwin toward Druid Finn’s house. I followed them. I had a sense that Erwin might need some help subsiding Druid Finn’s initial anger at asking for military formations.

 

I turned to Bridget “ Erwin and I need to talk To Druid Finn before lesson so stay out here with Hange.” She nodded yes.

 

Hange turned to Bridget. “So... what should we do while waiting for Miss Fey and Mr. Eyebrows” Hange asked Bridget, completely going along with the nickname she created for Erwin. I have yet to figure out if he's okay with it or not. I wish people would stop calling me Miss. I was only two years older then Mike. It made me feel old.

 

“I don’t know...” Bridget responded, looking down. “I have never had classmates before.” Hange looked around the field, lighting up on the sight of certain plants growing in the middle.

 

“I know!” She exclaimed after a moment. “Lets braid flowers into each other hair. I always wanted to do that as a little girl.”

 

“Yeah I am going to make you prettier then you already are! “Bridget shouted and threw her arms up in the air in excitement. They began and soon, Bridget was telling Hange what each flower did as they joined the bouquet that was Hange's hair. Soon, Hange started picking up flowers and asking Bridget what each one did. I couldn't help but smile as Erwin and I entered Druid Finn’s house.

 

I went in first.

 

“Druid Finn,” I called upon entering. “There is someone here who came to see.” Druid Finn turned to address his visitor. He seemed very surprised to see Erwin.

 

“Who is this?” He sounded very much insulted. That was the reaction I was expecting.

 

Erwin went to a salute, his voice commanding and strong “My Name is Erwin Smith I am a squad leader in the recon corps. I have-.”

 

Druid Finn rubbed his hands together grabbed some powder off of the counter close to him. “Be gone!” He bellowed, a wall of flames shooting from his mouth.

 

Now that I was not expecting.

 

To Erwin's credit, he handled himself very well for someone who almost burst into flames. He stepped back a few feet to avoid them and showed little fear considering the situation. Druid Finn realized after the flames had subsided this had not sent his guest running for the hills.

 

“I will not listen to a words from your honey mouth. Now get out or this time I will burn you.” Druid Finn bellowed enraged. It seemed to dawn on Erwin now that talking to Druid Finn was just not possible.

 

“I see you do not wish to speak to me. Sorry for wasting your time.” He said with a polite tone as he bowed and turned around. His actions surprised me. He showed me that he could handle a situation such as this very well. He showed no fear, which proved to me that he was strong and that he was in control of the situation regardless of the outcome. That being said, I doubt he would give up due to this, and was probably formulating another strategy in his mind. A very interesting man indeed.

 

Druid Finn slammed the bar lock behind Erwin as he left. He then turned to me red with rage.

 

“ _Why did you bring him here? What makes you think you can trust him?”_ He shouted at me.

 

I calmly replied, “ _He is a friend of Mike and Dagda._ ”

 

This made him very upset.

 

“ _Ohh, you think because he are your friend’s friend and friend of your late husband he is trustworthy. I don’t trust Mike as far as I throw him. And Dagda was as strong as an ox and just as smart. He could only make a smart thought if his life was in danger.”_ While I couldn't argue Dagda's intelligence, I wanted to tell Druid Finn that he was very curious and open-minded man, regardles if he was smart or not. I also wanted to remind him that the Nords were once considered outsiders but we eventually found similarities and integrated before the titans took the islands but I felt this would just anger him even more.

 

Druid Finn continued on his angry rant. “ _ He eats the king’s salt thus, he does the king’s bidding. Information is an extremely powerful weapon and people will go to far lengths to get it. Spies would spend years with the enemy gaining their trust even starting families with the enemy to get information. How many warriors have died just to attempt to get information on the titans? _ ” He clenched pieces of parchment in his hand. “ _ You know how the Celts got knowledge of the acrobatics that I taught you and am teaching your daughter to better your 3-D gear skills. We did not invent it our selves. The Spartans were stupid enough to write it down and we got a hold of it and deciphered it. Knowledge is the most powerful weapon. They already get protection from one of our goddesses. That is _ _ more then we owe them. _ ” 

 

My lecture was interrupted by loud thump on the door. There was a moment of silence, which was quickly followed by rapid knocking on the door.

 

“Excuse me Mr. Druid Finn.” Hange repeated over and over again. Druid Finn looked like a pot about to boil over. He flung the bar up and slammed open the door.

 

And then something amazing happened.

 

His entire demeanor softened. He looked absolutely stunned. Hange had quite the ensemble: Her hair was almost entirely braided with a myriad of flowers, she had an two flower bracelets on both wrists, a flower necklace, a crown and she had discarded her boots and had two flower anklets. “I would like to ask you some questions Druid Finn” she said.

 

And then Druid Finn did something that could only made me blush. This was something one did not do with a stranger. Something you do only do with family, extremely close friends, your children or your lover. He lightly tapped Hange’s forehead with his middle and index finger. Was he insulting her? No, that is not his style.

 

I noticed for a fraction of a second the smallest smile and... was that a tear? Hange completely dismissed this and became enchanted with Druid Finn’s study particular a witches knot pendent that was made of oak.

 

“Ohh, what does this symbol mean. I saw Bridget wearing a similar one.” Hange inquired.

 

I was about to respond, but Druid Finn got there first.

 

“It is a protection charm. That particular one belonged to my late wife and then my late daughter.” He told her. She then began to barrage Druid Finn with questions about the various objects on his wall. Some he answered and some he didn’t. Then they started talking about their research. Hange talked about her hypothesizes about titans and Druid Finn would talk about how trained his students and what he did to improve their performance such as starting certain lessons earlier then most and a strict diet. A healthy body houses a healthy soul he told her. He also mentioned that the druids also had theories about the titan’s origin but thought they sounded too mystical for her taste. Then they got into a conversation about whether science could be applied to mystical things.

 

As this went on, I just stood there completely stunned.

 

Who was Hange and what did she do with Druid Finn?

 

Was this the same man that constantly scolded me for allowing Bridget to get too attached to outsiders?

 

“I would like to continue this conversation, but I have to get to Bridget's lessons.” He stated after a few more minutes of conversation. “You’re invited to come if you want Dr…” he paused then. “I am sorry, what is your name?”

 

“Hange, Hange Zoe. I would love to attend.” Hange answered.

 

“Hange Zoe that is going to take some getting use to.” Druid Finn muttered to himself, so softly, I could just barely hear. He had a small smile on his face. I walked out of the house with them.

 

Druid Finn held a pouch filled various plant for today’s lessons. Bridget was making flower crowns for Mike and Erwin while perched on Mike’s lap. She hugged both of them good-bye and darted toward Druid Finn’s leg and hugged it before they began to walk over toward the chestnut tree.

 

Erwin, Mike and I started to walk towards my office in the recon barracks.

 

“He took to Hange quite fast.” Mike commented a few seconds later. “I have never seen him act that kind towards to a non-Celt. Did she give him one of these plants?”

 

I laughed and shook my head. “I'm just as lost as you.”

 

“What is his usual response to non-Celts?” Erwin asked as we entered the barracks.

 

“Usually he ignores them or he recounts horror stories of the times during the druid’s war or he breath’s fire at you if you really get him angry.” Mike said from experience as we walked towards the basement.

 

“I warned you. You would not get anything out of him.” I reminded Erwin. Erwin seemed disappointed, telling me that it wasn't his plan to sick Hange on Druid Finn.

 

Mike pulled out the archive key. “Don’t worry, your trip was not in vain.” Mike let out a small smil as he said this.

 

He opened up the large archive. Erwin seem bewitched by all the books. “All uncensored on pre-wall history and peoples. The Druids keep them to see if there is anything they can decipher or if there is something useful. If you can read pre-wall languages their secrets are yours.” I told him. “I suggest you look for stuff on the Romans and Spartans. They might help you. Their formation were quite good.”

 

“Isn’t this illegal?” Erwin asked, taking in all the documents that littered the room.

 

“Not under Celtic law.” I replied.

 

“We won’t tell any one if you won’t.” Mike added. Mike and I were about to leave Erwin alone with his thoughts, but he put his hand on my shoulder.

 

“This won’t get you in trouble?” He questioned. “I don’t want that old man to breath fire at you or Mike.”

 

I smiled. “Don’t worry, the druids do not believe in the written word so no Celtic secrets are in here. They would not have put it in a recon corps building if thought it would be anything you could use against them.”

 

“So why are they so willing to share other peoples secrets?” Erwin asked.

 

“Most of us want to regain the power our warrior king ancestors had and some of us just want to live unrepressed. Either way most of the Celts goals are parallel to that of the recon core, we want to make sure our allies are well equipped but not able to hurt us if they turn.”

 

“Why are you willing to share this information with me?” He asked.

 

“I have not told you anything I know you did not figure out already. You are just trying to be polite in asking me.” I revealed. Erwin flinched for a fraction of a second but quickly regain his composure. “You seem to trust me so I trust you as well. I do not sense any malice from you, just zeal. I look forward to working with someone with a mind like yours.” With this said, I left him alone.

 

“Nice to see you are playing nice with others. Knew you two would get along.” Mike said as he let out a smirk. I felt like I was being teased.

 

We reached the third floor of the barracks.

 

“Yes your friends always sounded very interesting. You should bring them around more often. Instead of keeping them in the dark.” I teased right back.

 

“I did what I thought was best for Erwin. Considering what was going on with him around that time, I thought your situation would just depress him. And how about you go make your own friends?” Mike said as nudged me jestingly.

 

“Oh really? How about this, I will make my own friends when you make your own kid? I will even help you choose from the throng of women staring you down when we go drinking. Only the best for my Friend.” I said half joking half serious.

 

Mike let out a hearty laugh. “Fair enough.” He said as I opened the door to my office and he opened the door to his next to mine.

 

My office was very minimal. It had a window and a desk, which was all I needed. The desk was facing the open window, with a view of the entire village. I sat at my chair. I could see the Caledonii family shops from here. I saw the twins helping their father in the smithery and their mother looks as though she was talking to a customer. I saw Bridget at lessons with druid Finn and Hange. My little ember seemed very happy. I couldn't help but smile.

 

_Hibernia- Ireland,_

_Pickland = Scotland,  
Britannia- Wales and England _

_Gaul- European mainland (included modern-day Germany, France and Spain.)_

 

_The Celts were not shy when it came to sex. Even the Romans thought they were too open about that stuff. Sex was not seen as bad actually it was seen as a very good thing as long it was not gluttonous or adulteress. The Celts saw it as a natural part of life and was not to be ashamed of even for women. Although they still were more limited then men in sexual freedom they were much more liberated sexually then other women in other ancient culture._

_If one wanted protection from the goddess Brigit (the goddess Bridget is named after) one would wear a green cloak. Druid Finn is infering that the survey corps wear green mantles for protection from this goddess._

 

_To the Celt the head was ones identity, it house the mind and soul and ones face was how you identify someone. To take an enemies head was to take them. If someone was to touch your head they were touching your entire being. It would be more intimate then someone seeing you naked. (For those with the dirty minds, it's not a sexual gesture.)_

 

**Author's Note:**

> please comment.


End file.
